Pixelphant
Verdict: With quite high prices of $1.90 for clipping path, $1.80 for product retouching, and $1.50 for ghost mannequin, Pixelphant sometimes cancels test orders without explaining the reason for it. The prices for their services are not the lowest, and many of the competitors perform the same tasks at lower rates.
The price of Pixelphant product retouching services starts at $0.40. This rate is relevant for the Enterprise package and only covers some basic editing tasks. However, you won’t get access to additional yet crucial services like format selection.
✖ Too visible editing. Very often the company’s team goes overbroad with editing, so customers note the presence of noticeable editing in their pics like wavy lines on backdrops or blurry sections on the floor. This decreases the overall quality of the outcome and compromises the professionalism of Pixelphant specialists.
✔ Before/after samples. Customers can envisage possible improvements that can be achieved by ordering their services. However, the variety of such samples is not extensive.
✖ Average ghost mannequin service. The company’s specialists can fix neck and sleeve joints, reshape, remove props, straighten products, etc. However, their photo editing examples prove that the result does not always look realistic, featuring traces of the mannequin.
✖ Ordinary shadow-adding service. These guys can add drop shadow along with natural and reflection shadows to the product pics. However, the added shadows do not appear lifelike and all the manipulations are visible.
✔ Free trial. A free trial that allows editing three pics is a considerable advantage. So, the clients have an opportunity to judge how good the editing is and decide whether it can satisfy their needs.
And all this without providing your credit card info. Being able to check how the team copes with their job will let you make an informed decision before deciding to purchase a paid package.
A background removal is another service provided by the company. They leverage AI technology to perform some simple tasks, but unfortunately, the result is not always ideal.
Besides, customers can take advantage of a hex code to change the background, but they should be okay with some remnants of the original background that can spoil the result.
✔ Wide availability. Pixelphant provides services in more than 55 countries, serving customers in various parts of the world.
✖ Unclear pricing policy. Individual plans are suitable for those who are interested in basic photo retouching and whose scope of the required job does not exceed 3000 files a month.
If you work in a team, you are likely to be interested in more advanced editing and collaboration options, so enterprise plans are what you need. They allow the processing of more than 3000 pics per month and have tools for speeding up the post-production stage.
✔ Round-the-clock customer support. The company’s specialists are available 24/7 to make sure that the customers get assistance whenever they need it.
✖ Next-morning delivery is not available in individual plans. If you’ve purchased an individual plan, you should put up with the fact that the execution period for your order will exceed one day. This causes delays, so you’ll have to wait longer for your order delivery.
✖ No custom requirements for individual packages. The custom requirements for users who purchased individual packages are quite restricted. This makes the service unsuitable for many clients who have specific needs.
✖ Handle large-volume orders poorly. Pixelphant cannot process voluminous orders on the proper level. This often causes delays, mistakes, and mediocre outcomes when processing large projects.
If you need a color correction service, you can also turn to Pixelphant. The company’s team can change and match colors, satisfying the needs of e-commerce businesses and web store owners.
However, many users report that the finished pics do not look realistic, as too bright colors strike the eye. Moreover, the colors may look blurred because of the color correction.
✖ Specializes in specific photo editing fields. As Pixelphant positions itself as an agency that specializes in product, e-commerce, and fashion editing, there is no sense to turn to the company if you have another type of project.
✖ Do not correct mistakes properly. The specialists of the company are ready to fix any error but they need extra time to do this job. But not only that, in some cases they failed to correct all the issues, which is an obvious downside.
✔ Pay-per-order. Pixelphant charges its clients only for the services they require. Using a pay-per-order basis, they provide clients with more flexibility and convenience when it comes to paying for their projects. This pricing model also awards a customer with an overall cost control and eliminates the need of purchasing costly subscriptions.
✖ Slow to respond on some communication channels. Clients often claim that Pixelphant’s specialists process the requirements very slowly, causing considerable delay and much frustration. Although they beat the competitors with a variety of communication channels, inconsistent responsiveness definitely spoils the company’s reputation.
✔ Engaging blog. The company keeps an interesting blog with useful info – here you’ll find ghost mannequin tips and get valuable insights into other related topics. Such a commitment to provide clients with exhausting info about the service and the editing field is laudable.
Businesses, shooters, and studios can benefit from Pixelphant’s clipping path service. However, the results are not always satisfactory. There is an inconsistency between their claimed starting price of $0.40 and the real price, which starts from $1.90.
✖ The quality of service delivery is not always consistent. When it comes to the quality of clipping path tasks, it has been reported to be inconsistent. This means that the final result is not always accurate and precise, which makes the service unreliable in the customers’ eyes.
✔ Monthly post-paid plan. Clients with high-volume photo editing needs will find Pixelphant’s monthly post-paid plan more than useful. It enables business owners to edit more than 1000 pics per day and pay for the used service at the end of the month.
✖ Does not adhere to deadlines. Sometimes clients complain that the team does not stick to deadlines, which is a real problem for businesses that cannot allow themselves disruption and delays in the workflow.
✔ Accepts multiple formats. It is great that Pixelphant works with all common file formats like JPG, PNG, PSD, TIF, WEBp, and more. Besides, a client can specify the desired format of his/her project and get the image with the required extension.
✖ Difficult-to-navigate website. Many users complain that the company’s website is very complex so they need much time to find the required option. So, finding some specific info or placing an order can be a real brainteaser.
To cater to fashion and editorial photography in the e-commerce fields, the company provides skin retouching. However, they will refuse such orders for personal or wedding photos, as well as family portraits.
✖ High prices. Be ready to pay $5, which is above average compared to other companies. This may put the clients off and induce them to look for an alternative.
✔ Ability to track orders in the dashboard. With it, customers can easily check on their order progress in a very convenient way. Such transparency appeals to clients, as they will be always aware of what stage their project is.
✖ Long execution period. The team needs up to 72 hours to complete the job, which is an obvious downside for those who are pressed for time. Such a prolonged processing time is an absolute disaster for time-sensitive projects.
✔ Endless revisions. The readiness to do as many revisions and other services as needed is another argument in favor of this company.
✖ Lengthy free revision period. Of course, the free revision policy is a real bonus, but considering the 30-day timeframe for revisions, it turns out to be a problem for clients with tight timelines.
✔ Referral program. By referring others to Pixelphant, clients can get hefty discounts. This practice is quite frequent and allows turning a random customer into a loyal one and encourages word-of-mouth recommendations.
Pixelphant also offers high-end retouching service which covers a great variety of tasks. The scope of work widely depends on a client’s specific requirements. Whereas the company claims that they only charge $0.40 for this service, but the real price is much higher - $4.20 or even more.
✖ Pricing discrepancy. Inconsistent prices are a considerable minus. It is frustrating when you expect to pay one price at the beginning, and ends up paying much more than expected.
✖ Cancels orders without explanation. According to clients’ feedback, occasionally the company cancels orders without providing an explanation. This usually happens because of the wrong order categorization. Such cases disrupt clients’ workflow, causing much frustration.
✔ Support RAW files. The company’s retouchers can handle RAW files providing photographers with an opportunity to achieve a highly detailed composition at the post-production stage, enjoying extreme flexibility.
✔ No copyright claimed. Pixelphant does not claim copyright on the pics provided by clients, awarding customers with full control over their assets and guaranteeing the ownership of their original content.
✖ Intricate credit purchase system. This editing service also offers a credit purchase system, which is a win-win option for those who want to save. However, many customers will find it difficult for understanding. Such a tangled system will put people off from trying to optimize their expenses.
✖ Does not follow client instructions. According to some reviews, Pixelphant’s specialists disregard client instructions when performing an order. Such inattention to details spoils the result making customers upset.
Background removal and color correction cost $0.80. Basic skin retouching will send you back $2.50, high-end skin retouching costs $4.20, and the clipping path – from $1.90, etc. But note that many other alternatives provide such services at lower prices, delivering better outcomes.
Besides, it is possible to process 3 pics for free and the company can handle bulk orders. However, when working on voluminous projects, the agency does not provide any discount, which is a considerable minus that makes Pixilphant less attractive for clients with such a scope of jobs.
Verdict: Exceptional quality of the delivered projects is what lets FixThePhoto beat Pixelphnat, which repels clients with multiple negative reviews. FixThePhoto also excels at the competitor with its clear pricing policy and reduced prices for voluminous orders.
Besides, the company’s prices are lower compared to the competitor, so this is definitely a more cost-effective solution.
The team of professionals can edit wedding shots, real estate photography, fulfill your virtual staging service, and even video editing tasks. So, if you are seeking a comprehensive solution for high-end video and photo retouching, FixThePhoto is definitely a better option than Pixelphant.
Verdict: If compared to Pixelphant, the pricing policy offered by WeEdit.Photos is more affordable but the outcome is superior. Besides, the company’s range of services is more extensive and includes photo manipulation services, virtual staging service, etc.
Additionally, WeEdit.Photos has nice discounts for voluminous orders. So, if the final price of your project is more than $300, you’ll have to pay 15% less, whereas, for orders that cost $1500 and more, there is a discount of $30.
Verdict: Being a direct rival to Pixelphant, Pixc provides high-quality product editing. The company mainly deals with basic adjustments like cropping or background removal, while the spectrum of tasks Pixelphant can do for you is much broader. The proof of this is the competitor’s portfolio.
Credit-based payment system offered by Pixc often confuses users, while the pay-per-order pricing structure of Pixelphant is easier to understand. But when it comes to turnaround time, the company promises to complete any project within 10 hours, and the competitor will need from 24 to 72 hours to edit the clients’ pics.
Verdict: Retouchup offers a broader range of services with the prices from $2.50 per image to retouch pics, $1.50 for clipping path costs, and $35.00 for photo restoration services. Although both companies are ready to do as many corrections as required, Retouchup excels the competitor by providing the unsatisfied customers with a refund.
But to place an order with Retouchup, you’ll need to specify much info, which is a very time-consuming procedure. Besides, many clients complain that photo uploads can last forever.
Verdict: Picture isolation services like Clipping Paths and Image Masking are Clipping Factory’s specialty. However, their scope of provided services is more diverse if compared to the competitor.
The pricing systems of both companies are difficult to understand, as they feature different categories and custom options. Besides, the two of them do not provide discounts for bulk orders, but Pixelphant offers a free testing period, which is a considerable plus.
Verdict: ShootDotEdit primarily focuses on providing top-level wedding photo editing, which cannot be said about its competitor. The company has a bunch of samples of its work that proved its expertise in the wedding photography niche, leaving Pixelphant behind in this aspect.
But many clients resent the high prices for ShootDotEdit’s packages, with the Rollover Plan costing $119 per month and the Unlimited Plan priced at $299 per month.
Verdict: The scope of services delivered by IIPVAPI is really amazing: they can remove background for $1.99, restore images for $30, and upgrade pics for $10. Contrarily, Pixelphant focuses only on product retouching. Both companies cannot boast the premium quality of their services, but IIPVAPI is weaker in this aspect considerably.
What is more, you won’t find many samples of the completed projects in their portfolio with some services having no illustrative material at all. However, IIPVAPI excels the competitor by providing photo restoration services at a relatively modest price ($30) and top-rated client service.
Verdict: Unlike Pixelphant, Image Salon has a team of professionals specializing in different image genres like wedding, food, product, and real estate photo editing. Such extensive coverage lets Image Salon satisfy a great variety of client needs, while Pixelphant only delivers eCommerce editing. Image Salon offers a reduced price for clients who place an order with a company for the first time, which cannot be said about the competitor.
Verdict: Ephotown excels Pixelphant by covering virtually all clients’ needs. They specialize in e-commerce, wedding, and real estate, as well as deliver background erasing and jewelry retouching services. On the contrary, product editing is the only niche Pixelphant excels at.
Both companies leverage the per-photo payment model, which is more convenient than the subscription-based system. Ephotovn charges $3 for retouching, $2 for real estate editing, $2 for jewelry retouching, and $0.3 for wedding photos.
Verdict: A comprehensive scope of the delivered services is what sets Color International apart from the competition. It can handle headshot retouching, video editing, real estate, wedding, and product photo editing. At the same time, the range of services delivered by Pixelphant is very restricted, with a focus on ecommerce.
Besides, CEI prices are much higher if compared to its rival and start from $1.49 per image. Although the company charges more, its order execution period is much shorter: they can process up to 2500 pics per day. Other goodies offered by CEI are discounts for bulk orders, first-time customers, and returning clients.
